The Crow Bar, Crows Nest

As you sit in The Crow Bar at Crows Nest, you will see some locals drop in for a drink on the way home or maybe come in post dinner for a nightcap or two. Then there are those here for more.

The Crow Bar

With its dimly-lit interior, classic black tones, ornate wallpaper and chandelier over the bar, it is cosy, intimate and welcoming. The street-front area with exposed bricks and overhanging bird cages is interspersed with greenery that gives it an indoor/outdoor feel.

The Bar

The Crow Bar opened on Halloween in 2013 occupying the space that was formerly Matt Kemp’s The Burlington. With a capacity for 110 persons, the venue invites comfortable seating at the bar, along high tables under the watchful eyes of The Crow Bar canvas.

Rear bar

At the rear, you’ll find a second bar and lounge with more intimate seating,

Courtyard/Events Space

and further along, there is an enclosed courtyard that doubles as an events space with a fireplace.

Jamie Muscat

Bar Manager Jamie Muscat has devised an extensive cocktail list of 15 classics and 12 signature drinks including a “Surprise Me” if you’re still undecided. The classics include well-loved favourites such as Old Fashioned, Sours with a choice of Whiskey, Amaretto and Pisco, Sazerac and Manhattan. There’s a fine list of whisky on the back bar including Islay, Japan and Australia.

L-R: Mings Tipple, Kezzbot

From the signature cocktails comes Mings Tipple ($20) made with Japanese Whisky, Apricot liqueur, Dom Benedictine with a smoky Ardbeg wash. The drink is beautifully balanced with elegant fruit and apricot notes with a hint of smoke at the end.

For fans of peated whiskies, Kezzbot ($20) is not to be missed. Lagavulin 16 is mixed with Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Maraschino Cherry and Peychauds Bitters. Based on the old fashioned, the drink has a seductive nose and perfect balance of sweetness and peaty smoke.

For Skinner

If you were to have one last cocktail for the night, make it For Skinner ($20). The cocktail was Bartender Jamie’s entry into the Dictador Rum cocktail competition held earlier in the year. A heady combination of Dictador 12 yo Rum, Averna and homemade honeycomb gin is warmed then served in a bamboo smoke glass and garnished with citrus. Beautiful aromatics lead onto a a delicious drink where the sweet notes of the rum and the bitter elements of Averna are balanced on the palate. This drink is a sipper, and lingers with smoke right until the last drop.

When it comes to food, The Crow Bar is on par with many top venues, offering a range of dishes from bar bites to boards and more substantial with Chef Anna Borna at the helm. You’ll also find share board of dips, cheese, charcuterie and the best of both world in a combo board.

Buffalo Wings

The Buffalo Wings ($12) make a good starter to share. The wings are beer battered with Monteith’s American Pale Ale, rolled in rolled in Franks hot sauce then drizzled with a blue cheese sauce. Hot, spicy and sweet, they are simple delicious and so tender that they come apart easily with a fork and knife.

Seafood Chowder

The Seafood Chowder ($16.50) comes bursting with flavour and brimming with prawns, salmon, John Dory, mussels and clams in a rich, creamy sauce. Each spoonful is to be savoured and mopping up any left over chowder with the garlic baguette is pure delight. The dish is listed under Share Plates but you’d do well to order one just for yourself.

Lamb Shanks

From the Bigger Bites comes the house special for two. Lamb Shanks ($38) are slow-roasted twice over 4 hours and come with roasted chats, beautifully caramelised parsnips with sweet cranberries and chopped walnuts. The dish has a Christmas element to it, with the sweetness of the meat falling off the bone and melting in the mouth.

The Crow Bar ticks all the right boxes for a friendly, welcoming neighbourhood bar where the food offerings are heart warming, generous and very good value with cocktails of the calibre you’d find in top Sydney bars. No matter which side of the bridge, come and enjoy what the locals already are.

About the author

Corinne Mossati

Corinne Mossati is the Founder/Editor of popular online magazine Gourmantic and Cocktails & Bars, a website dedicated to cocktail culture and the discerning drinker. She is named in Australian Bartender Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential List since 2013, is a member of The Academy responsible for judging the World’s 50 Best Bars. She has also judged the inaugural Australasian Whisky Awards and various national cocktail competitions.

1 Comment

[…] The Crow Bar offers a place to catch up for a drink, have some bar bites or a relaxed dinner with generous servings of good food. The cocktails are high calibre so grab a seat under the bird cages in the front bar and enjoy. […]

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